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L. B. Hathaway . Historian and Historical Novelist
L.B. Hathaway, Cambridge-educated, British-born L.B. Hathaway writes historical fiction and contributes to a number of popular history magazines and websites. She worked as a lawyer at Lincoln’s Inn in London for almost a decade before becoming a full-time writer. She is a specialist in Tudor history, especially everyday life at the itinerant court of Henry VIII. She is also a lifelong fan of detective novels set in the Golden Age of Crime, and is an ardent Agatha Christie devotee.
Her other interests, in no particular order, are: very fast downhill skiing, theatre-going, drinking strong tea, exploring castles and generally trying to cram as much into life as possible.
Posie Parker Mysteries
Her Posie Parker Mysteries (cozy crime novels) span the 1920s. They each combine a core central mystery, an exploration of the reckless glamour of the age and a feisty protagonist who you would love to have as your best friend.
The Vanishing of Dr. Winter (Posie Parker Mystery #4)
by L. B. Hathaway
When a widow from her past as an army nurse hires feisty detective Posie Parker to find her dead husband, it's a little confusing and disconcerting, especially when her client asks, "Do you believe in ghosts?". The widow believes she has recently seen her husband in person though he supposedly has been dead for years. She wants to be sure it's not just wishful thinking on her part, and she can afford the rate, so Posie accepts the job. Dr. Winter is intertwined with Posie's brother Richard, whose questionable suicide she is already investigating. So, this gives her more reason to get involved. Much of the story takes place at Cambridge where Dr. Winter and Richard had both worked. Apparently, Dr. Winter had more than a few dark secrets, and Richard had one big one that he had not shared with Posie. If Dr. Winter is still in the area, why didn't he come back to his beautiful wife? With more questions surfacing regarding both these victims, Posie may be poking a hornets' nest and risks being swarmed by those who don't want their secrets to become public. She will also uncover something that will change her own life. There's a nice little mystical twist at the end. I love this series, and the 1920s era. Reminds me greatly of Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries by Essie Davis. *****Five Stars. ~Review by Sandy Penny, SweetMysteryBooks.blogspot.com
Murder at Maypole Manor (Posie Parker Mystery #3)
by L. B. Hathaway
This is by far the most dangerous assignment Posie has undertaken. When her gentleman companion, Alaric, leaves her alone for the holidays, she jumps at Detective Inspector Richard Lovelace's plea for her to attend a New Year's Eve party undercover as his wife. With a couple of stylish new designer dresses to raise her financial status she boards the Golden Arrow, train for the rich and famous, headed to the seaside mansion, Maypole Manor's much desired party. M.I.5 will purchase plans for a radical new bomber plane from a shadowy figure. It's up to Posie and Detective Lovelace to see that nobody dies during the exchange. Well, that may be tougher than expected when it turns out that no one is what they seem. The mission is complicated by being snowed in with no phones and no heat. And something even more sinister is hiding in the shadows, waiting and watching. A complex story with more secrets than the C.I.A. Fame, fortune and badges will not guarantee safety in this swirling storm of lies, greed and vengeance. *****Five Stars. ~Review by Sandy Penny, SweetMysteryBooks.blogspot.com
The Tomb of the Honeybee, (Posie Parker Mystery #2)
by L.B. Hathaway
When Alaric Boynton-Dale, the famous explorer and honey farmer disappears, his family calls astute investigator Posie Parker in to investigate and try to find him, dead or alive. Then, when the murder of a famous mystery author occurs at their home while Posie is visiting, she is tasked with finding the murderer as well. Did Alaric kill her and run away? Did a family member set to inherit a fortune kill them both? If so, why would they kill the mystery author? And, when Posie finds a mysterious very valuable coin at the scene, known to always have been worn around Alaric's neck, what does it mean? Does it implicate him as guilty? So many questions posed by Posie that you think they'll never get sorted out. A very sticky plot glued together with honey. The author takes readers on a leisurely international ramble through 1920s England, France, Italy, Egypt and back again. Again, it seems the spirit of Agatha Christie is sitting on Hathaway's shoulder. The transition to Egypt could have been smoother, and I hated the destruction that occurs in Egypt. It saddened me. But, all in all, I couldn't put it down. *****Five Stars ~Review by Sandy Penny, SweetMysteryBooks.blogspot.com
Murder Offstage (Posie Parker Mystery #1) by L. B. Hathaway
Posie Parker is a struggling Private Eye in the 1920s when a retiring investigator asks her to team up with his son who has a good business tracking and spying on people for attorneys. This leaves Posie free to handle the higher profile cases. On Valentine's Day, there's a murder centering around a fantastic stolen diamond with a dark past, and one of Posie's friends is accused of being involved. Much of the action centers around a theatre where the diamond thief worked. Posie has to hob nob with the rich and famous at a secret private club to follow the leads that keep dropping into her lap. It's a great story, with interesting characters set in a great time period, and a plot sufficient to keep you guessing. The owner of the stolen diamond forces Scotland Yard to work with Posie to find the diamond and clear his son of any involvement in the murder. There's a villain who is sure to show up in future novels as Posie's nemesis. There are several great women characters in this first of a series, and I look forward to seeing them in action again. This novel is well-written, well-edited, a first class cozy worthy of Agatha Christie. ~Five Star Review by Sandy Penny, Founder of SweetMysteryBooks.blogspot.com.